


Vanilla Rainstorm

by TheGoliathBeetle



Category: Free!
Genre: Campus tours, College, Getting Lost, Haru is so done, M/M, MakoHaru Week 2016, Makoto is a determined cinnamon roll, Rain, Tokyo (City), getting lunch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 01:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8080816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGoliathBeetle/pseuds/TheGoliathBeetle
Summary: --Makoto whipped out his phone and consulted the maps, ignoring Haru completely. "Look," he said, his tone rising in frustration, "we're here, we're five minutes away, we'll find it."--Haru and Makoto go to Tokyo for a campus tour of Haru's soon-to-be university. Afterwards, they go looking for lunch. Written for MakoHaru Week 2016.Prompt: Favourite Moment





	

**Author's Note:**

> For MakoHaru Week 2016
> 
> Date: Monday, 19th September
> 
> Prompt: Favourite Moment
> 
> Haru and Makoto go to Tokyo for a campus tour of Haru's soon-to-be university. Afterwards, they go looking for lunch.

After forty-five minutes of walking through the dizzyingly identical Tokyo streets, Haru had to say something. This was insane. Tokyo: already a city too loud and smoky and alien for him, and now, he was being forced to take an uncalled for tour of it.

The first time Makoto had come here, he'd been with his family. They'd accompanied him for a campus tour of his prospective university. Now, he'd come with Haru, since the two of them had decided on their universities in the same city.

The campus tour itself hadn't been so bad. Haru's university wasn't too far from Makoto's, which was a relief. They had a great swimming programme to boot, and an excellent indoor pool that Haru could use whenever he wanted. Perfect. After he was done with the tour, Makoto had promised to take him to this really good place for lunch. Apparently they cooked mackerel in some thirty-seven different ways. Haru had agreed instantly.

It was almost two pm now, and Haruka was _starving._

"Makoto," he complained. To anyone else, it would have been just a monotonous word, just a statement of his friend's name. But to the brunet, it meant, _I'm hungry and tired, can we just get lunch at any random sushi place, I really don't care anymore._

"No, Haru, I know it!" Makoto cried, turning to look at him before glancing wildly at the towering skyscrapers around them. "This is the place, I'm sure of it!"

Makoto had said that twenty minutes ago too.

"We're lost," Haru said, his tone bordering on irritation. "Let's just eat somewhere else." There would be plenty of time to find this mackerel restaurant once their college year began and they started living here full-time.

Makoto whipped out his phone and consulted the maps, ignoring Haru completely. "Look," he said, his tone rising in frustration, "we're here, we're five minutes away, we'll find it." Purposefully taking Haru's hand (a gesture that felt so familiar and yet so surprising. Makoto's palms were warm, slightly sweaty, but Haru didn't mind. He loved how his friend's large hand could completely cover Haru's, it made him feel so safe), Makoto took big steps down the footpath.

Hunger and exhaustion were taking their toll on Makoto as well. He clicked his tongue, annoyed, when they had to stop at the streetlights. Haru found the slight crease between his eyebrows so funny, because _trust_ Makoto to get so determined about finding a restaurant Haru would enjoy. Really, by now he ought to know that Haru was happy going absolutely anywhere with Makoto, the food didn't matter.

"Ren and Ran loved this place," Makoto went on, his praise a way to pacify Haru. "And you know how picky they are about their food."

Haru rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying it's a bad place, I'm just saying –"

"Here!" Makoto dragged Haru down another identically drab looking alley. "I'm sure it was – " and then he stopped abruptly and consulted his maps app again, his frown deepening. Haru had rarely seen such an irritated look on Makoto's gentle features. It sure as hell didn't suit him. "That's not right…" his voice sounded strained and tired. "I don't think this map is giving me the right directions. Wait, it's recalculating."

" _Maa_ koto," Haru said in what was almost an undignified whine. His eyes went skywards, towards the laden clouds. "It's going to rain."

His friend dropped Haru's hand (the sudden coolness on his skin was not entirely welcome, but Haru didn't say anything about it). "I'm just going to ask someone for directions," Makoto declared, walking towards the nearest stressed-out businessman barking orders on his phone.

Haru just sighed, leaning against a lamppost. The weather was steadily getting windier, and on a normal day, Makoto would have noticed. It was sweet, this single-minded ambition to attend to Haru's needs, and Haru would be the first to confess that he was absolutely hopeless without his best friend doting on him. He wouldn't even have made it to school on most days if it weren't for Makoto dragging him out of the bath. Honestly though, it wasn't always necessary. Haru wished Makoto would just relax sometimes, going with the flow of things. He put so much pressure on himself: school, swim club captain, being a good older brother and a perfect son. He shouldn't have to worry so much about a stupid mackerel restaurant.

Several minutes later, Makoto returned to Haru's side, his face set in an artificial smile. "I think I found it," he said. The uncertainty in his eyes, however, gave him away. Haru didn't bother countering him. There'd be no point.

So he dutifully followed Makoto down several other streets, careful not to step into puddles or trip over his own shoe laces, sticking close to his best friend as they took on this chaotic, anxious city. This was nothing like Iwatobi, with all these cars and tourists and businesspeople fighting for space, and these looming towers and skyscrapers clogging the life out of the land. Haru was going to have a hard time adjusting here…His eyes longingly looked towards an ice cream parlour. He was so hungry...

The thunderclap overhead made Makoto jump and finally notice the sky. "Oh, no," was all Haru heard him say before the rain began.

"This way!" Makoto grabbed Haru's hand again, trying to weave between the hundreds of people on the foothpath without accidentally bumping into them. Of course neither of them had carried any umbrellas. Haru loved the rain, loved getting wet, loved the feeling of water dripping down his scalp. For Makoto and his endless mothering instincts, rain meant just one thing: imminent colds. And Haru, of course, had a penchant for getting sick at improbable times.

"Stay out of the rain, Haru!" Makoto cried without giving him any indication on just _how_ he was supposed to do that. They dived under an awning, only slightly damp but shivering anyway. They weren't the only ones. At least five other people without umbrellas had crowded under there, watching as the downpour got steadily worse. Haru loved the rumble and rush of water hitting the earth, he could watch it rain all day. Makoto, however, sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair. (He looked so freaking _good_ when he did that.)

"Sorry, Haru," he mumbled, lowering his eyes and biting his bottom lip. "I wanted to take you to that nice restaurant but I guess we can't go now. I can't even find it, I don't understand!"

Haru just shook his head. "Wait here."

"Hmm?" Makoto looked up curiously as Haru stepped out from under the awning and dashed across to the store a few meters away. He could hear Makoto calling after him to not get drenched, but Haru ignored that (Makoto had been ignoring him _all afternoon_ to find this stupid restaurant, Haru only thought this was fair.)

He stepped into the ice cream parlour. It wasn't a sushi place and it didn't serve lunch, but Haru didn't care for those details right now. He bought two vanilla ice creams with waffle cones. Vanilla had been their favourite flavour as kids, but Haru hadn't eaten it in ages. These days they ate ice lollies instead. Haru honestly couldn't remember the last time he and Makoto had eaten an actual ice cream.

Running with two cones was hard enough, but the rain pelting down on it made Haru all the more nervous. Still, he managed to return to Makoto without any serious damage to any of the ice creams, and silently handed a cone to his friend.

"Before lunch?" Makoto asked, raising his eyebrows. But he grinned and took it anyway, muttering a small, "thanks, Haru." Makoto was such a sucker for sweet things, honestly.

"I'd rather be eating ice creams in the rain with you than going to some stupid restaurant anyway," Haru commented, instinctively drawing closer to his best friend. Makoto was warm and loving and safe, and somehow eating a freezing cold ice cream in a rainstorm wasn't so bad with him, even though Haru was beginning to feel cold from inside his organs.

Makoto giggled. "We're going to fall sick." His tone, however, made it seem like a joke. His warm palm slid down to hold Haru's, and they just ate their ice creams while they waited for the rain to stop.

**Author's Note:**

> I was confused whether the prompt was supposed to be a favourite moment in the show or in general. I went with 'in general' because there was more scope for getting creative. I wrote about eating ice cream in the rain because that's one of my favourite things to do :3
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment :)


End file.
